Virginia Farm Bureau Questionaire

The Farm Bureau of Virginia recently sent out a candidate questionnaire. Below are the questions asked and my answers.

Please tell us briefly why you are seeking this position.

I’m tired of leaders who talk more than they act. Our district and our country deserve a representative who is committed to solving real problems with practical, data-driven solutions. I believe in transparency, accountability, and using technology to make government work better for everyone. It’s time for a fresh approach that moves beyond the old political games and focuses on delivering results that actually make a difference in people’s lives.

What are your three main priorities as a candidate?

1. Transparency & Accountability: Implement real-time campaign contributions and government spending disclosure to restore trust in our political system.

2. Technological Innovation: Modernize government systems to improve efficiency, cybersecurity, and public access to services, ensuring our government works smarter and more effectively.

3. Environmental Protection: Advocate for robust policies that protect our natural resources and address the urgent challenges of climate change, ensuring a sustainable future for all.

Antibiotics Availability for Animal Health & Vet Shortage

The FDA has recently moved several important over-the-counter livestock medicines to prescription (Rx) status. This will require livestock managers to first get a veterinarian’s prescription before treating sick animals, an issue in areas with vet shortages. How would you recommend tackling the nationwide veterinarian shortage and the limited access to pharmaceuticals?

1. Expand Veterinary Education & Training: Increase funding for veterinary schools and create incentives, such as scholarships and loan forgiveness programs, for students who commit to working in underserved rural areas. This will help address the shortage by encouraging more students to pursue careers in veterinary medicine and practice in areas where they are most needed.

2. Telemedicine & Mobile Veterinary Services: Promote and support the use of telemedicine for veterinary care, allowing vets to diagnose and prescribe treatments remotely. Additionally, incentivize mobile veterinary services that can travel to rural and underserved areas, providing on-the-ground care and prescriptions where access is limited.

3. Pharmacy Access Flexibility: Advocate for policies that allow certain trained and certified livestock managers to access critical over-the-counter medications without a prescription, especially in areas facing acute vet shortages. This could include a certification process for livestock managers to ensure they have the knowledge to use these medications safely and appropriately, balancing the need for access with the importance of responsible antibiotic use.

Agriculture Labor Reform (AEWR-specific)

Farmers are struggling to find domestic workers who are willing and able to provide the labor required by the agriculture industry. This issue is compounded by the rapidly increasing regulatory burdens and cost increases facing the H-2A program. How do you propose to help address the critical labor shortage facing agriculture?

1. Reform and Streamline the H-2A Program: Simplify and streamline the H-2A program to reduce regulatory burdens and costs for farmers while ensuring that workers are treated fairly. This could include modernizing the application process, reducing bureaucratic red tape, and providing more flexibility in how and when workers can be hired to meet seasonal demands.
2. Incentivize Domestic Agricultural Labor: Develop programs that encourage domestic workers to take up agricultural jobs, such as offering tax incentives, wage subsidies, or other benefits for workers willing to engage in agricultural labor. This could also include targeted training programs to equip domestic workers with the skills needed for modern agricultural work.
3. Adjust the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR): Work with stakeholders (NOT CORPORATE FARMS) to review and potentially adjust the AEWR to better reflect regional economic conditions and the specific needs of the agricultural industry. This would help ensure that wages are competitive, attracting more workers while keeping costs manageable for farmers.
4. Promote Automation & Innovation: Invest in research and development for agricultural technology that can help alleviate labor shortages by automating certain tasks. This would reduce the dependency on manual labor while maintaining or increasing productivity.
   

Tax Reform

Do you think the current federal income and estate tax systems are fair and equitable to family farmers? Does the tax code encourage success, savings, investment, and entrepreneurship? Are there ways you would improve the current tax code to preserve farmland and encourage the next generation of farmers?

The current federal income and estate tax systems place significant burdens on family farmers, making it challenging for them to thrive or pass their farms on to the next generation. The tax code, as it stands, often benefits large corporate interests that are buying up family farms, undermining the legacy and sustainability of family-owned agriculture.

Having grown up with a family pecan farm in Louisiana, I understand firsthand the struggles family farmers face. My grandfather’s stories of the agricultural collapse in the 1980s remind me how crucial it is to protect these vital businesses. The tax code should encourage success, savings, and entrepreneurship, but instead, it often penalizes small family farms.

To preserve farmland and encourage the next generation of farmers, I would advocate for reforms that:

1. Increase Estate Tax Exemptions for Family Farms: Adjust the estate tax to ensure that family farms can be passed down without crippling tax burdens. This would help keep farms in the family rather than forcing sales to large corporate entities.
2. Create Incentives for Family-to-Family Farm Sales: Develop tax incentives for family farms to sell to other family-run operations rather than to corporate interests, preserving the tradition of family-owned agriculture.
3. Implement Tax Credits for Young Farmers: Introduce tax credits for young or new farmers to encourage them to enter the industry and maintain the agricultural legacy.
4. Limit Corporate Farm Expansion: Consider tax penalties or regulations that discourage large corporations from monopolizing farmland, ensuring that small, family-owned farms have a fair chance to compete and succeed.

Science-Based Decision Making

In recent years we have seen a multitude of challenges, not always rooted in science, to farmers’ ability to use EPA approved pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other crop protectants. These are critical tools for farmers to produce the safest, most abundant, and affordable food supply in the world, and implement conservation practices. Do you support science-based decision making when deciding which products should be available to farmers?

As a Senior Data Engineer, I understand the importance of data-driven decisions, and I believe that both the EPA and pesticide companies need to significantly improve their transparency and the availability of open data.

I remember attending a pecan meeting with my grandfather, Ben Littlepage, where a chemist discussed how they tested Roundup on pecan trees and found no pesticide residue in the nuts. But where is that data today? Such transparency is critical for farmers to make informed decisions. My grandfather also developed an incredibly accurate pecan crop prediction model, but when he passed, much of that knowledge was lost, and crop yields haven’t been predicted as accurately since.

We need more accessible, high-quality data that any farmer can use without needing to be a data scientist. This data should be open and transparent, allowing farmers to make the best decisions for their crops and the environment. Moreover, we must stop attacking innovative companies, like DJI, which provide agricultural drones that help family farms reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Innovation and practical, science-based solutions are key to ensuring that our farmers can produce safe, abundant, and affordable food while also implementing effective conservation practices.

Farm Bill/Farm Policy

We are currently operating on an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, and, as of this writing, neither chamber of Congress has passed a new 5-year farm bill for consideration. What were the most important aspects of the most recent farm bill that you believe helped Virginia farmers? What would you like to see included in the next farm bill?

The 2018 Farm Bill provided crucial support to Virginia farmers through various programs that promoted conservation, crop insurance, and rural development.

1. Conservation Programs: The bill strengthened programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), which help Virginia farmers implement conservation practices that protect the environment while maintaining productivity.
2. Crop Insurance: The continuation and expansion of crop insurance programs provided a safety net for farmers facing unpredictable weather and market conditions. This is particularly important in Virginia, where diverse agricultural production can be vulnerable to environmental changes.
3. Support for Local and Organic Farming: The 2018 Farm Bill increased funding for local food systems and organic farming, supporting Virginia’s small and specialty crop producers, who are vital to the state’s agricultural diversity.

For the next farm bill, I’d like to see:

1. Expanded Access to Technology and Innovation: Increasing support for programs that help farmers adopt new technologies, such as precision agriculture and agricultural drones, which can increase efficiency and reduce costs.
2. Strengthened Support for Family Farms: Policies that provide more robust support for family-owned farms, including easier access to credit, technical assistance, and programs that help these farms stay competitive against large corporate interests.
3. Improved Data Transparency and Access: Mandating better transparency and access to data from both government and private sources. Farmers should have access to reliable, user-friendly data that helps them make informed decisions without needing to be data scientists.
4. Climate Resilience: Expanding programs that help farmers adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, ensuring that they can continue to produce food sustainably in the face of increasing environmental challenges.

The next farm bill should focus on equipping Virginia farmers with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly changing agricultural landscape, ensuring their continued success and contribution to the commonwealth’s economy.